Rahul: Will fight betrayal

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 27

When Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said today that he was aware of the Bihar goings-on since four months, the question on everyone’s mind was: what was he doing about it?

The Congress answered this question routinely. “We were respecting the coalition dharma. Restraint and wisdom are keys to mature political leadership. We believed in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s words — mitti mein mil jayenge par Bhajpa se haath nahi milayenge (Even if we are reduced to dust, we won’t shake hands with the BJP). Nitish Kumar and the BJP have scripted a story of rank opportunism and treachery. They don’t have the mandate and have no right to stay in government even for a day,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

Stopping short of asking for a midterm poll, he said the Congress will fight this “treachery” on the roads of Bihar.

The party could not, however, convincingly answer why Gandhi could not pre-empt the Bihar developments if he indeed knew for months what was happening. Gandhi, in his first reaction to the Bihar mess, blamed the nature of Indian politics.

“When you are in politics, you can make out what the other person is up to. We knew since three-four months what was happening. Nitishji got a mandate to fight communalism in Bihar but he embraced those very communal people for personal gains. This is the problem with Indian politics. It has no rules, no credibility. People do anything for power,” Gandhi said in Parliament.

Out of power in another state, Congress was at a loss to explain what happened and why it did not move fast enough to at least stake claim for government formation in Bihar. The party privately acknowledged it did not have the numbers, with news that some of its 27 legislators may break ranks.

“Disregarding popular mandates has become a habit of BJP. They did it in Goa, Manipur and earlier in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh,” Surjewala rued, even as some Congress senior leaders admitted that the party was caught napping in Goa and Manipur despite popular mandates.

Leaders also said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi could have used her influence with RJD chief Lalu Yadav to have Tejaswi Yadav resign as Bihar Deputy CM and deny Nitish Kumar an alibi to walk out. “If not that, we could have appeared aggressive about wanting to save the alliance,” a leader said, while the party officially defended Tejaswi Yadav, facing corruption probes.

“If charges alone were any criteria, half of PM’s cabinet would have had to resign,” Surjewala said.

After losing Bihar, Congress now remains in power only in Punjab, Karnataka, Himachal, Puducherry, Meghalaya and Mizoram. In Himachal and Karnataka, going to elections shortly, Congress faces anti-incumbency and a hyperactive BJP.